Plas Course Development Template, Social Welfare as a Social Institution, Sociology
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PLAS Course Development Template
I. Course Information
Course Title:
Department:
Department contact:
PLAS Area Requirement:
Social Welfare as a Social Institution
Sociology
Suzanne Strickland
(CV; SS; United States)
Sociology (Course Number): Sociology 222; 3 credits; Pre-requisites include Soc 101 or
Anth 101 or Econ 101 or Fnes 106 or Hss1 or Psci 100 or Psci 101 or Urbst 101.
Revision of Existing Course
or New Course:
Revision of Existing Course
Course Description:
This course explains the tributaries that define the “pursuit of happiness” as embedded in
the constitution. American social welfare policy—as implemented through various
institutions—creates the enabling conditions that permit American citizens the “pursuit of
happiness.” The constitutional framers adopted Aristotle’s definition of happiness and
the path to achieving it. Consequently, this course exposes students to Aristotelian
principles and the ways in which these principles under grid American social welfare
policy.
American social welfare policy is at first influenced by English jurisprudence, e.g.,
commonly referred to as “The English Poor Laws.” By the mid 1800’s, successive waves
of immigrants from Europe begin to come to America, and this influx challenges the
European legal framework. America begins to understand the immigrant experience—
and its implication for democracy—through the eclectic contributions made by social
reformers, journalists, scientists, and the influx into America of prominent European
thinkers, who begin to modify their European perspectives by the American experience.
These forces shape American social welfare institutions created in the 19th Century that
begin to mediate between the harshness of capitalism and the rights of man.
In the 20th Century, as America emerges as the leader of the free world, social welfare
institutions are again reshaped by economic and political changes in the world and in the
country.
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Crafting social welfare policy in a democracy is a complex task that requires policymakers to ask hard questions. How does social welfare policy shape the character of a
citizen? Can social welfare policy effectively promote equality? What constitutes good
social policy; does empirical evidence prove the efficacy of policy approaches, or are
there broader theoretical questions that define effectiveness? To answer these questions,
this course traces the philosophical, economic, political and historic tributaries that
shaped the United States’ social welfare system. Students will gain an understanding of
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the interplay of these factors, and how the contours of contemporary social policy
continue to illustrate this complex weave of philosophical, economic, political and
historic events.
The first large-scale challenge to social welfare policy in America occurred with
the immigration of 1845. Beyond the significance of integrating large waves of
immigrants, the Chicago experience begins to shape an indigenous American Sociology.
We will examine the settlement house movement in Chicago and its significance to
American social science by reading Jane Adams’s book, The Spirit of Youth and The
City Streets. Class reading will also focus on Jacob Riis’s parallel account of New York
City’s immigrant experience.
The class will define the evolution of government’s role in social welfare by
focusing first on Al Smith’s important influence as a ward boss from the Lower East Side
of New York City, to the governorship of New York, and finally to the national stage as a
candidate for the presidency. Then we will discuss the critical impact of Franklin
Roosevelt’s policies as governor of New York and later as president. These policies had
a far reaching impact in building a federal role for social welfare.
Examining Post-WW II America, the class will analyze how government policies
of the late 1940’s and 1950’s contributed to prosperity for many Americans, but at the
same time, as Michael Harrington posited, these strategies created serious “social
deficits” for southern blacks, displaced industrial workers and the elderly. The Other
America, by Michael Harrington explains why America needed to fight The War on
Poverty to help those at risk. The Great Society sought to redress these “social deficits,”
but several theorists argued that the strategies developed to ameliorate the problems did
not achieve that goal. We will examine the empirical evidence used to evaluate these
programs to discern what some of the failures were. Losing Ground by Charles Murray
provides a provocative explanation for this failure. This examination formed the basis for
the welfare reform overall of 1994.
The last part of the course will define the current social welfare challenges posed
in the 21st Century.
II. Criteria for PLAS Courses
Justification:
1. Introduce students to how a particular discipline creates knowledge and
understanding.
Much of the early history of social welfare emanates from English jurisprudence, e.g.,
commonly referred to as “The English Poor Laws.” By the mid 1800’s, successive waves
of immigrants from Europe begin to come to America, and this phenomenon challenges
the European framework.
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America begins to understand the immigrant experience and its implication for
democracy through the eclectic contributions made by social reformers, journalists,
scientists, and the influx into America of prominent European thinkers, who begin to
modify their European perspectives by the American experience. These forces contribute
to the development of an American sociology that serves to inform political institutions
that mediate between the harshness of capitalism and the rights of man.
The early social reformers use this emerging sociology to under grid the institutions that
America builds to help the immigrants enjoy the constitutional right to the “pursuit of
happiness.
2. Position the discipline within the liberal arts and the larger society
The core of sound social welfare policy is how it contributes to the “pursuit of
happiness.” In this course, we define the tributaries that constitute the “pursuit of
happiness” as embedded by the constitution. Since the definition of “the pursuit of
happiness” comes from Aristotle, students are exposed to the strong influence that
Aristotelian principles had on defining the “pursuit of happiness” and the implications of
Aristotle’s philosophy on social welfare policy.
3. Engage students in active inquiry.
In addition to original source books and documents, students watch documentary footage
of Jacob Riis’s New York; the event that galvanized New York State Government to
expand its role into social welfare—The Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire—and the
emergence of some of America’s greatest leaders who were shaped by the social welfare
crises faced by New York State and the nation.
4. Consider diversity and the nature and construction of forms of difference.
Immigration and the challenge of “making a citizen”—to a large extent—drives the
development of social welfare institutions. Students will gain an understanding of how
integration of varied ethnic groups into American society is achieved.
5. Address the goals defined for the particular Area (s) of Knowledge the course is
designed to fulfill.
Culture and Values
The course prepares students to understand the impact that culture and values have on
shaping social welfare institutions. It will provide insight about how immigrant cultures
clashed with the ideals of American democracy, and the important role that social
institutions played in mediating this disconnect.
Social Structure
Power and politics and the influence of both to shape institutions are a focus of this
course.
4. Existence and importance of change over time.
This class traces the development of social welfare institutions over time and
articulates how political and social events shaped its evolution.
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Here briefly describe how the activities on the syllabus teach the competencies listed
on your syllabus.
Course Objective. To define, understand and articulate the historic and philosophical
underpinnings of American social welfare policy. This will be accomplished through
reading assigned course material, using the concepts in written exercises, class
discussions and written exams. Reading original source material forces students to
understand historical context, but students find this reading difficult at times. To ease
their fear about original sources and familiarize them with writing styles they do not often
encounter, the instructor conducts an “in-out exercise” that asks students to read three
pages of text in class. The instructor then asks students to indicate next to each paragraph
if they are engaged by the paragraph by marking “I” which stands for in or engaged, or an
“O” that stands for out, or a symbol that they are not engaged. After the class completes
the reading, the instructor asks students to analyze what engages them and why, and to
develop strategies that will help them engage with material that they are glazing over.
To compare and contrast various social welfare theories and to analyze the outcomes
of policy approaches. The instructor demonstrates to students devices to help them make
these comparisons, e.g., the creation of grids. The importance of these organizational
devices to improve analysis and writing is emphasized.
IV. Assessment
A. The Curriculum Committee, Department of Sociology will manage PLAS
implementation. The Committee will provide all instructors teaching this course
with PLAS criteria and instruction on how to incorporate PLAS standards into the
course. Teaching observations will incorporate PLAS criteria into the standards
used in evaluating teaching proficiency.
B. On the first day of class, the instructor will survey students’ knowledge of
American social welfare history and major philosophers’ thoughts on the nature
of man. The instructor will administer another survey at the end of the course to
gauge students’ accumulated historic knowledge.
C. The course requires a good deal of writing that becomes progressively more
complex—as the contours of ideas grows more complicated. Instructors will use
the progress of student writing to indicate how effective students become in
analyzing the tenants of social welfare.
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